The Tobermory Treasure Galleon

After the defeat of the Spanish armada by the British fleet in
1588, it is said that a critically damaged Spanish vessel
took shelter in the bay of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull,
Scotland.
The following are details of newspaper clippings reporting
and speculating on the Tobermory Galleon wreck and the
various salvage attempts that have taken place over the
years. At the moment all of stories listed below are from
the The Times
but we will be adding lots more in the future.

Tobermory Galleon Timeline (printed sources)

The Times - September 5, 1906

Records the recovery of a piece of silver plate weighing
2lb's with a diameter 11 inches. The article also noted that
when the plate was recovered it was covered with a brownish
coating.

The Times - September 21, 1910

Records that the ship lies in 11 fathoms of water.

The wreck originally belonged to the Duke of Lennox,
Great Admiral of Scotland. In 1641 the Duke of
Lennox gave rights to the wreck to the Marquis of
Argyll in return for a one hundredth share of any
treasure salvaged from the wreck.

Records that the Marquis of Argyll first
attempted to salvage the wreck in 1665, with further
salvage attempts occurring in 1676, 1680 and
1694. These salvage attempts 'yielded little more
than a few ships guns, of which some may be seen at
Dunstaffnage and Inverary, some copper kettles and
tankards, and many cannon balls.'

In 1730 gold and silver coins were recovered from
the site along with a finely made cannon dated 1584.
In 1740 further salvage efforts yielded more cannons
including 'a French field piece carrying the device
of Benvenuto Cellini.'

Records that the first modern attempts at
salvaging the wreck occurred in 1903, the salvage
operation being run by a Captain Burns of Glasgow.

Information supplied by the Spanish Admiralty
identifies the wreck as the Duque di Florenzia
(the Duke of Florence). Commanded by Captain
Pereira, the galleon weighed 941 tons, was
constructed of Africa Oak, carried 52 guns, 386
sailors and 100 marines.

Article questions the legend that the Tobermory
galleon was carry 30 million pieces of eight:
'Thirty millions of such coins would weigh 765 tons
which would not allow much room for men and horses,
stores, guns and ammunition.'

The majority of coins recovered from the site so
far are pesos from the reign of Philip II.

The Spanish Admiralty sent an officer to
Tobermory in 1905 to ask that any human remains
recovered by salvors or local people be carefully
collected so that the bones could be sent back to Spain
for proper burial.

The Times - September 24 1910

Two letters refuting some of the information
contained within the article published in the Times
on September 21, 1910.

Julian S. Corbett states:

That there was no such ship as the Duque di
Florenzia

The Times - September 27, 1910

Two more letters to the editor:

J. K. Laughton
states:

That the ship was not the Florencia, but
the San Juan Bautista weighing 750 tons,
carrying 24 guns, 297 soldiers and 136 mariners. The
ship being commanded by D. Diego Manrique.

The Times - September 28, 1910

Letter to the editor from J. K. Laughton
commenting on the use of iron chain cables on
shipping.

The Times - October 1, 1910

Two more letters to the editor:

Archibald
Campbell references the Tobermory Cellini gun,
salvaged from the Tobermory galleon by the second
Duke of Argyll, postulating that it may have been
captured by the Spanish at the battle of Caria. The
Cellini gun may have been sold to Dulwich college.

'there is an Armada ship lying in Loch Don,
facing Oban'

'there is a vessel off the Morven shore, which I
believe is now being exploited'

Thomas B Ecroyd calls attention to inaccuracies
in J. K. Laughton's letter in the September 27th
issue of The Times: 'So far the name of the vessel
lying at the bottom of Tobermory bay remains a
mystery'

The Times - October 4, 1910

Letter to the editor from J. K. Laughton

The Times - October 22, 1910

Letter to the editor from Mr. E. K. Purnell

The Times - October 31, 1910

Short entry recording the discovery at the wreck
site of a priests medal with the inscription 'Ego
sum lux mundi via veritas vita', a Portuguese copper
coin from the reign of King Sebastian (January 20,
1554 - August 4, 1578) and a number of muskets the
previous Friday.

The Times - January 16, 1911

'The syndicate which has been searching for the
treasure supposed to be lying in the sunken Spanish
ship in Tobermory Bay intends to renew its
operations on January 23.'

'A number of relics
which were recovered from Tobermory Bay during the
explorations of last autumn are on view at the
offices of Messrs. W. C,. Read and Co., the
secretaries of the ' Pieces of Eight'
Syndicate (Limited), at 5. Great Winchester-street,
E.C.,
and can be inspected by any one who is interested in
the subject.'

About 20 coins found in total.

The Times - April 4, 1912

Records the recover of a silver salver, a stone
cannon ball and pieces of African oak.

The Times - August 23, 1922

'Evidence of the ship's presence, moreover, has
been supplied by the recovery of. various pieces of
plates. cannon balls, parts, of muskets swords and
daggers, a bronze cannon, 4 1/2ft.. long and with a
3in. bore, and some gold buttons- and silver ware. A
quantity of human bones have also been discovered.'

'On Saturday night another bronze cannon, a little,
larger than the one recovered previously, was
brought to the surface'

The Times - March 3, 1950

The Admiralty enter into an agreement with the
Duke of Argyll to undertake diving operations on the
wreck site: 'It should be made clear that the
Admiralty are concerned only in the location of the
wrecked galleon, and not in any subsequent
operations'

The Times - April 1, 1950

Records the discovery of timbers at the wreck
site by Royal Navy divers.

The Times - May 8, 1950

Records the discovery of two silver medallions
at the wreck site by Royal Navy divers. They were
found with a suction dredge below 20 feet of silt.

The Times - May 9, 1950

Very short statement from the Duke of Argyll
about the Royal Navy's operations at the wreck site

The Times - August 25, 1950

Notice about Tobermory Galleon related documents
that had been put on display at Inverary Castle.
Original deed for rights to the wreck from Charles
I. Notes c.1677 written by the Duke of Argyll
describing the recovery of cannon and other items
via a diving bell.

The Times - July 15, 1954

Notice in The Times about the Duke of Argyll's
acquisition of the ship Ardchattan, to be
used in salvage operations on the Tobermory Galleon
Wreck site.

The Times - August 9, 1954

News of new salvage operations at the galleon
wreck site the expedition being led by Rear-Admiral
Patrick McLaughlin, R.N. (retd.), and
Lieutenant-Commander L. K. Crabb (better known as
Buster Crabb, he would later vanish under
mysterious circumstances just two years later in 1956).

The Times - August 11, 1954

The Duke of Argyll states that the search for
the Tobermory galleon is not a treasure hunt: 'The
expedition is an attempt to identify and explore the
only known galleon of the Spanish Armada'